1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to airport security and in particular to a method and system for identifying and tracking a person, passenger, or employee in and through any building and in particular from and through airports and aircraft in the world air transportation system.
2. Description of Related Art
An identification badge is many times provided to employees of buildings or airports. Passengers in airports and visitors to buildings however are identified only by a single photo identification that is presented at check-in, or sometimes not at all in the case of buildings. Security consists of a series of questions concerning baggage and tickets. No check is made on the identity of the passenger except to ask for a government issued piece of ID like a driver""s license or passport. There is no cross-checking as to whether the presented ID is valid or fraudulent The passenger""s location in the airport is not known or tracked. When the passenger checks into a flight, a boarding pass is presented and the passenger boards the aircraft. There is no verification that the same passenger who checked in is the one that boarded, and it is very easy for a boarded passenger to exit the aircraft after boarding without being noticed by anyone. Security at airports is minimal as to who a passenger is and where the passenger is in the airport.
Since Sep. 11, 2001, airport security has come under tighter scrutiny; however, there is still no way to positively identify a passenger or track a passenger""s movements while they are in the airport or aircraft; no way to ascertain when they have passed through security or whether they have exited a secure area without boarding a plane; no way to prevent or detect someone passing through security more than once, and no way to be sure the person on the plane is the same person who passed through the security checkpoint and/or was issued a boarding pass. In the case of buildings, the situation is worse. In this case, once a visitor is admitted to the building, usually, but not always, by signing in, the visitor is usually free to wander anywhere on any floor. A skilled terrorist could easily gain access to a roof, basement, or mechanical room area without being detected.
Prior art airport systems have proposed electronic tickets and smartcards that can be carried by passengers. Tuttle in U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,671 presents a system for locating an individual in a facility where a portable wireless transponder device is carried by the individual. Tuttle""s device resembles a standard security badge with a possible photo of the individual on the badge. Tuttle""s invention is directed toward location of employees who would wear such badges. Tuttle states that a passenger could also possess such an identification and be located. However, Tuttle""s patent was developed with the idea that a business traveler would not want to stand in line for a ticket, much less for an electronic interrogation, and mentions the use of curb-side baggage check-in. His method terminates once a passenger or bag enters an aircraft. He makes no reference to any type of security checking of the individual.
Yokozawa et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,369 present an information delivery system and portable information terminal where an individual possesses a smartcard type of wireless device and can be tracked by a wireless system. Yokozawa also describes a person passing through a check-in gate with the gate itself recognizing and communicating with the portable device by wireless means. While Yokozawa presents a wireless device carried by a passenger, there is no mention of the security aspects of the situation.
The prior art shows systems where passengers and/or employees carry wireless smartcards that communicate in data bases, but not via satellite or internet, and none of these systems solve, or even address, the tremendous security problem that exists at airports and other buildings where potential passengers could be terrorists, criminals or other dangerous persons. They do not address the problem of whether a passenger actually boards a flight and remains on the plane, and whether the passenger actually arrives and exits a second or subsequent airport, nor do they propose be tracked while aboard an aircraft with data transmitted ahead to connecting aircraft and/or customs/law enforcement/immigration officials. In the current airport system and prior art systems, there has historically been no connection or relationship between airline database information and security database information. Since Sep. 11, 2001, in the U.S., there has been some recent sharing of FBI information with airlines; however, this has been limited to lists of known terrorists. There has been no direct access from the airport to the law enforcement data base.
What is needed is the ability to screen passengers or visitors and move then through a terminal to their aircraft and then on to their destination, or through a building to their destination while knowing at all times who and where the passengers are.
The present invention relates to a method and system for airport or building security where a passenger or visitor presents themselves at the check-in counter or guard station in the normal way. A government generated picture identification is also presented (drivers license, passport, or government issued ID card, etc.). The present invention then requires additional positive identification by fingerprint scan, retina or iris scan, face feature scan, voice scan, handprint, palmprint, finger length comparison, DNA, or any other means of positive identification. In addition, a new photo can be taken of the passenger during check-in. The total data thus acquired can be compared against law enforcement databases such as FBI, Immigration, or INTERPOL, etc. to determine immediately if the potential passenger is wanted or known to be dangerous, and if the passenger is who he claims to be. There needs to be no indication at the check-in counter or guard station if a positive identification is made of a dangerous individual; rather, security personnel can be immediately notified.
The present invention requires check-in and a positive identification of a passenger. Fraudulent ID""s and criminals can be immediately identified by law enforcement. In the case of airports, the present invention continues past boarding through the flight and customs/immigration and terminates upon exit at the passenger""s destination.
After the identification process is complete, the passenger can be checked into the flight, or allowed admission to the building, and then given a wireless device that may be in the form of a smartcard or any other portable device that can be carried or worn. This device serves as a boarding pass and airport/aircraft tracking device or as a tracking device in the building. The device can be a small, flat, card like a credit card, a device like a personal digital assistant, or any other small electronic device that can contain electronics and wireless communication capabilities. Since the location of this card wireless device can be tracked in the airport or building by wireless antenna location means, by GPS, or by direction fixing between multiple antennas, or any other tracking means, the location of the person is known at all times while in any area of the airport, aircraft or building. In the case of a positive identification of a dangerous or wanted individual, law enforcement officials can apprehend the person anywhere in the airport or building that allows a safe and non-disruptive apprehension.
In the case of an airport, the system can also report when the person has passed through carry-on security (normal X-ray, etc.), or any other security check point, when the person is in the departure gate area, and when the person has boarded an aircraft. At boarding, a second security check can be made with a second fingerprint or retinal scan or any other positive identification method to verify that the person who checked in originally is the one boarding the flight. The system can positively make sure the person boards a certain aircraft and stays on since egress could be controlled by having to present the smartcard to exit.
In the rare case of someone having to legitimately leave an aircraft after boarding, airline personnel could be immediately notified by the card at egress to ascertain why the exit is being made and to be able to assist the person (who might have gotten on the wrong plane, might be sick, etc.). An illegal or unexpected egress would be immediately noted by airport security personnel. It is also possible to continue to communicate with the card inside the aircraft if the craft is also equipped with a wireless system. In addition, satellite communication can possibly be carried on with the aircraft and cards inside the aircraft while it is in flight or parked at a gate. Passenger""s movements could be tracked or mapped while they are onboard the aircraft in real time. Additionally, the movement information can be saved and reviewed at a later date if a particular passenger""s movements would be of interest to law enforcement officials.
Upon arrival at a final or intermediate airport, a normal egress from the aircraft could be noted by the system in the new airport. The passenger""s location could be tracked by the system through customs/immigration, if an international flight, on to baggage pickup and airport exit, or until re-boarding a subsequent flight. When the passenger finally exited the final airport, the card could be collected and recycled for reuse, and the system would note that the person had left the system.
A major improvement of the invention over the prior art is the positive identification of every passenger and possibly every person entering an airport or building as well as providing positive tracking at all times as to the location of the person in the airport, building, or in the world air transportation system consisting of all participating airports and aircraft. The invention provides a final determination that an individual has arrived at a final destination and departed the system or has legitimately left the building in question.
The present invention could be optionally applied to all people in airports or any other building, including visitors, by also requiring them to register on entry, at least by fingerprint scan, and also carry a card while in the airport or building. Anyone who tried to leave an airport or building without a card could be stopped and re-identified (sometimes people might lose the card or device). A lost card could be located through wireless communication with a central control point.
A more sophisticated version of a card or electronic device could be equipped with an LED display device where flight schedules could be called up, and an alarm that would buzz or otherwise indicate the approach of boarding time. The more sophisticated card could be connected into the internet for the convenience of the passenger so that the passenger could receive or send E-mail, get stock quotes, or generally surf the internet while waiting for the flight. A buzz or audible alarm could sound if there was an important announcement coming in for that passenger such as a gate change, etc. A more sophisticated version of the card could also contain a cellphone.
The present invention increases the speed by which a traveler or person entering a secure building or airport can proceed to their destination and increases safety and security. The present invention allows a screening agency to identify legitimate passengers and cargo as legitimate and detects criminals and other dangerous persons in order to prevent terrorist and other illegal acts.
The present invention has the ability to follow a single person and bag and back-track all of his or her movements. A keystroke could bring up all persons a target came into contact with as well as trace all of his contact""s movements to see if they entered the airport together, then separated and came back together again after clearing security, etc. The tracking aspect of the present invention could allow law enforcement agents to stop a potential terrorist and all those he or she came in contact with prior to boarding. This tracking aspect could also record and store a person""s movement throughout the building or airport complex. Patterns of suspected terrorists or criminals could be overlaid on each other to see if their routes through a facility coincided. Similar stops could indicate drop points or pick up points.